


Stranger Shores

by Twilight2000



Category: Leverage
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 13:43:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2112093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight2000/pseuds/Twilight2000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elliot, Hardison & Parker aren't quite where started, but we know Who can fix that!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stranger Shores

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galfridian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galfridian/gifts).



“Parker, where the hell are we?”

“If I knew that, Elliot, I’d know how to get us out of here.”

Elliot looked around, he didn’t recognize anything. He was a bit groggy and arse over teakettle in what looked like a meadow on the edge of a wood. The odd thing was that nothing looked familiar. Nothing at all. It was unusual that he didn’t recognize anything. There were no landmarks, but even the vegetation didn’t look right. The leaves were an odd bluish green, the grass leaned closer to purple than green, the sun was wrong somehow and the air didn’t even smell quite right. Where the hell where they?

Parker was sitting on the lowest branch of a tree, looking down at Elliot. The tree had an odd orange hue to the bark, sort of like a Madrona, but low branching like a Mangrove or a Banyan – and it smelled like… well sort of like fruit. Where were they and how had they gotten there?

Elliot stood up, “Parker, get down from there.”

Parker looked down at Elliot, “I like the view.”

She could see across the meadow, but the branch wasn’t more than five feet off the ground, so it wasn’t about the view as much as not taking orders from Elliot.

It had been hard since Nathan and Sophie had taken off. It was fun and the guys didn’t give her a hard time, but it was still hard. She had taken for granted some of the contacts that the two leaders had created and as a group, they’d had to hide a little more than then when they were all together. Still, it was fun and she’d like to get find Hardison and start on their next job. Once they figured out where the hell they were…

“Elliot, what’s your last memory before ending up here?”

“We were… I was walking down a side path near one of those parks we keep tripping over. What is it with Portland and parks every block?”

Parker laughed, “Yea, that’s what I thought. I was sitting on a park bench. Hardison was… in the van?”

“I think so,” Elliot spoke as he looked around and took stock of their situation. “If that’s the case, and he’s here—

“Wherever “here” is”

“Yea, Parker – I get that – but he would only be a couple hundred—

“There’s nature all over me. Where are we and where is my VAN?”

“About right, there he is, whining again!”

Parker jumped down and gave Hardison a big hug! “We don’t know where we are, how far did you walk?”

“Must have been at least a mile, I was walking forever through all those leaves and stuff!”

Elliot was gonna have to smack him one of these days, he really was. “Hardison, you couldn’t have been more than 100 yards into the woods. And leaves? Yea, they won’t kill you.”

“How do you know? They could be some kind of alien leaf out to kill the smartest one in the group!”

Elliot shook his head, “Sure, Hardison. Sure. Look, we need to identify where we are if we’re going to get out of wherever we are. Let’s split up and search the perimeter of this…meadow… and then go into the woods to see what we can find out.”

Parker nodded, “Makes sense, Elliot. Hardison?”

“Out here, alone, in all this nature? I think not! I’ll stick with you Parker.” He stopped and looked around, “You might need protecting!” They all got a laugh out of that one.

*******  
Half an hour later, they had walked the perimeter of the meadow and outside of some very odd foliage; they had found nothing of use. They were about to head into the meadow when they heard a voice from behind them.

“There you are then, do you make a habit of wandering about on strange planets?”

Elliot, Parker and Hardison stopped moving. Hardison mouthed “strange planets?” to Parker, who shrugged her shoulders, but otherwise, no one moved. Or spoke. Which seemed to irritate the voice behind them.

“So have you gone deaf or are you simply refusing to speak?”

Parker turned around first, she figured as their leader she kind of had to. “Um, pardon me?”

The man shook his head, “You three had better come back to the TARDIS, it’s not strictly safe out here.” He turned to start walking, as if expecting the trio to follow him.

Parker stood her ground, “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what a TARDIS is and I’m certainly not going anywhere with you until I do know at least those two things!”

A young black woman appeared out of the woods, near the man with the odd British accent, “I know it’s confusing, but he really is right. It’s not all that safe out here!”

As if to underscore her words, they suddenly heard 2 sounds at once, either of which would have been more than enough to make them follow the two Brits. First, they heard what sounded like a baying hound, Baskervilles, Parker’s dad would have said. Second, the long, low keen of an animal in anguish. While neither Parker nor Elliot recognized the second animal, it was clearly a very large animal in a very great deal of pain.

Parker looked at the young black woman, “Look, that sound is from an animal in anguish, probably something the size of an elephant. We need to find it and help it.”

The other woman shook her head slowly, “it’s not an elephant, Parker and we’re not going to save it. It would sooner eat us than let us near it.” She moved toward the team, closing the distance unobtrusively and quickly.

Elliot jumped in front of both of them, having noticed the woman’s approach, “Just wait a damn minute. You have no business knowing Parker’s name and you can stop moving as well.” He was clearly protecting his group with physicality that no human could mistake.

The man spoke again, “Look, this isn’t getting us anywhere – I’m The Doctor and this is Martha Jones. You 4 are the only humans on this planet, the keening you’re hearing is from a mire beast and there is not only absolutely nothing we can do for it, we’re likely to end up on the lunch plate if we don’t get out of here.”

Elliot looked at this man who called himself The Doctor and the woman with him, Martha. They were clearly really terrified, whether more for themselves or his group, he couldn’t tell, but it was real. “Parker,” he whispered, “I don’t know what’s in the woods, but it scares the living hell out of the. I’d go with them if I were you.” 

Hardison was standing next to Parker, practically vibrating he was so scared but he still spoke softly, “I agree with Elliot. Do you know how often that happens? That’s right, I agree with Elliot!”

It was a mark of how well they’d knitted together after Nate & Sophie had gone off on their own that both guys were waiting for her to make the call. They were a little more democratic than they had been, but the guys still looked to her to make most decisions, especially when they weren’t able to talk it out. And Hardison agreeing with Elliot on what to do with strangers? Yea, that pretty much sealed the deal.

The animal noises were coming closer. That helped her make the decision. “Fine, Doctor, we’ll come with you, but can you answer questions as we run?” The Doctor and Martha had turned to run as soon as Parker had said “fine”.

“If you wish” he hollered as they ran into the woods on the far side of the meadow. 

“What do you mean the four of “us” are the only humans on this planet?”

“I’m Gallifrayan, not human. The similarities are only surface!”

“OK, Let me try again. Where are all the other humans? You seem to be suggesting we’re not on earth anymore.”

Martha tapped The Doctor and he nodded. “Let me try, I’m more in your position than he is. We’re human; he’s a Time Lord. As far as The Doctor can figure it, you got caught in the backwash of time tidal wave and it landed you, and thankfully us, here. We’re not sure what planet it is, but we are sure that it’s not as friendly as this meadow might have you think and we’re awfully glad we washed up here as well because we can get you home!”

Parker looked at Hardison who replied, “I told you. Didn’t I tell you? I always told you!” She just shook her head. She looked over at Elliot, who had put his eyes on the ground and clearly wasn’t lifting them until they’d gotten wherever they were running to. Good grief, Hardison would never let them hear the end of “aliens”.

*****  
They ended up at the door of British police box, sitting, inexplicably in the middle of a clearing on, if these people were to be believed, an alien planet. Somewhere out in the Alpha Centauri cluster, if Martha was right. “Right next door to home” she’d said. Good grief! She acted like this was the most normal thing in the universe! And how the hell was this police box going to help them, never mind what it was doing here!

The Doctor opened the door, let them in and as they entered… Hardison spoke first, “And I thought we were going to have to cram into this thing!” Elliot steadfastly refused to speak and stared at the floor. Parker turned to Martha, “What is this?”

She smiled, “Welcome to the TARDIS – Time and Relative Dimension in Space – it’s The Doctor’s spaceship. And it will take you home. Right back to the time you left.”

“How?” Parker was still trying to take it all in. They walked up the ramp to the center of a cavernous room with a huge control panel at the center of it.

“Part of how it works. Hang on, I think this ride will be a bit more bumpy than usual!”

And at that moment, the machine started to make grinding noises, like someone had left the parking brake on a particularly large truck, and the whole thing shook like someone was playing yo-yo with it.

A moment later, they came to a stop, the grinding stopped as the machine stopped shaking.

Martha smiled, “Here we are! Door to door service!” She lead them back down the ramp to the door. “Awfully sorry you got caught, but quite glad we were able to bring you home safely!” She stood there at the door, as if to invite them to leave.

Parker looked out the door and saw the storefront of their place in Portland. Never mind that a Blue British Police Box made no sense in Portland, it was, she supposed, less odd than an actual space ship—

And before she could finish the thought, Hardison had run out past her and was kneeling on the ground in front of them, kissing the sidewalk.

Elliot walked out, kicked Hardison in the butt gently (well, gently for Elliot) and walked into the bar.

Parker turned to Martha, “Thanks for the lift?”

Martha nodded, “It’ll make sense in a day or so. Honest.”

Parker smiled and waved at their pilot, The Doctor, who smiled and waived back. She turned to walk into Portland. As she turned to look at the Police Box once more, it started to shimmer and then it finally just disappeared.

Hardison was sitting on the ground, “It just disappeared!” 

Parker nodded, turned to Hardison and smiled, “That it did, Alec. That it did.” She reached down, picked him up and headed into the bar.

She was beginning to think they’d been too hard on Nate…

**Author's Note:**

> I was having trouble with voice, but my beta went through it and gave me some ideas - it started to flow and I finally finished it! Of the prompts this recipient had, it was Leverage, hands down! My Beta, not part of this group yet, was great - I look forward to seeing her here next year!


End file.
